Counting Sand Grains in the Beach
by ImmortalMagician
Summary: Collection of oneshots written according to each boss themes of each character. One songfic per theme. Genre, PoV and length vary.
1. Hole in the Heart

**#1: Hole in the Heart**

_: 恋色マスタースパーク __Love Coloured Master Spark_

_My initial concern was increasing the complexity of my danmaku and making them stronger. When I did reduce my training, it wasn't because I was overjoyed with the fruits of my labour._

As my star-shaped danmaku scorched the target before me, I got off my broomstick and looked at the target board. The mark was way off the bulls eye. I sighed. I lay down on the green grass beneath me. My thoughts were getting too hazy and I could not get my mind off that day.

The day my lasers got too strong.

* * *

I was cheerfully spinning around the air with my broomstick, weaving through pattern after pattern of danmaku aimed in no particular direction. I was challenging Reimu once again after I was finally satisfied with my training.

'Love Sign: **MASTER SPARK!**'

As I declared my spellcard, I drew my mini-hakkero from my hat and prepared my laser. Aiming at Reimu, my laser began to materialise and I smirked at her as I summoned showers of little star danmaku. She struggled trying to find a way over my Master Spark and I quickly flew above her with my broomstick, knowing that it had always won Reimu's speed. As my mini-hakkero began to glow, I summoned even more star danmaku as they began to rain on Reimu like a heavy downpour.

Reimu spun round, eyes wide with shock. With our rule of no bombs, she knew she was in deep shit. She tried to get out of the cloud of star danmaku that was spread out in no defined pattern, but it was too late. As my Master Spark blasted through the air, Reimu yelped in fear and surprise. After about ten seconds, my Master Spark dissipated. Reimu was nowhere to be found.

'Eh? Reimu, where are you?' I scanned my surroundings in confusion, unable to spot the red shrine maiden. As my danmaku faded away, I spotted Suika who was lazily drinking sake on the Hakurei Shrine main gate while observing our battle. Suika giggled as she took another huge gulp from her Ibuki gourd. Suddenly, her facial expression hardened as I approached her.

'Hey, Suika, did you see Reimu? We were playing danmaku just now and after she got hit by my Master Spark, she disappeared.' I said, getting straight to the point. Suika, however, said nothing. I repeated my question, my broomstick lowering down to her as she lay on the strong wooden gate.

'Hey, Marisa, how long have you been training your lasers?' Suika finally spoke, after a long while of silence. I raised an eyebrow at her question. As I got off my broomstick, I raised my fingers, counting as I responded, 'Eh… I'm not too sure, I think… about a year? Or was it two years? I'm… not too sure, hey…' I grinned sheepishly as I scratched the back of my head. Suika nodded and brought her Ibuki gourd to her lips again. As she lowered the small, violet gourd, she looked directly into my eyes, void of any of the cheerful disposition she had prior to my arrival.

'Marisa, you are too strong.'

What she said hit me only a minute later.

'…Eh?! Wait… wait wait what?! You gotta be kiddin' me, hey! I-I want to be stronger than Reimu, but that was too much!' I stuttered as my hands flew about in all directions. It was true, Reimu was the strongest in Gensoukyou. The gap youkai, Yukari, two of the Devas of the Mountain, Yuugi and Suika as well as Yuyuko, who could invoke death in humans all lost to Hakurei Reimu. She was the only person I wished to have rematches over and over in order to beat.

'You… just killed Reimu with that laser.' Suika said, her voice solemn and filled with emotion. I did not believe my ears. I whacked myself on the head with my broomstick, thinking it was all a dream, but it was not.

'Suika… It's not funny…' At this moment, I noticed a red fabric drifting slowly along with the gentle breeze. As it landed in my palm, my eyes widened in fear. Cold perspiration trickled down my forehead and my hands trembled non-stop. My heart was racing as I took in the features of the red fabric. It was part of the ribbon that Reimu always wore her ponytail in. Apart from the fact that it was torn, its other detail was the one that was close to short-circuiting my brain with emotion.

It was charred with few patches of red dotting the burns.

Thirty seconds felt like an hour as I stood in front of Suika, gaping like an idiot at the piece of cloth. My eyes remained wide and I was staring at nowhere in particular. Without warning, I grabbed my broomstick and dashed for the Forest of Magic at full speed. I panted and panted, fatigue slowly taking over me but the adrenaline rush gave me no time to pause. Tears began to well up within my eyes, blurring my vision. As I passed the area where Reimu and I were having a danmaku match, mini craters dotted the area and several trees were charred to the roots. It was only at this time when I stopped and leaned against one of the few standing trees for support, trying to catch my breath.

'No… It can't be! She won't… She won't…' As I choked on my tears, I sobbed as I lowered myself onto the ground. _I can never forgive myself… I can't show my face to the world… anymore…_

A few days after the incident, Gensoukyou citizens were silent. Not a single soul dared to disrupt this tranquility. Yukari, after listening to Suika's grave words, announced that the Hakurei Shrine maiden would be replaced. Even though she displayed her poker face, I could tell that deep down, she was screaming and ripped up inside. I packed up all the junk in my house with great difficulty and slowly moved my furniture deeper into the Forest of Magic. _I can't face anyone with this burden… Especially Yukari…_

Within a week, I took down my house and built a new one with a different design, not wanting people to recognise me. I knew that people would resent me for murdering the Hakurei shrine maiden, so I decided to live in exile by myself. I spent less time trying to improve my techniques, still mourning the loss of Reimu, my rival, my best friend. Every once in a while, Alice would try to cheer me up by offering to have a short match with me but I refused all the time, even though I would have accepted them with great energy in the past. I was scared of hurting more people around me. When she came round again yesterday to have lunch together, I looked up from the makeshift grave I made for Reimu and declined the invitation for the umpteenth time with a sad smile. As I made my way back to my house, a stray tear rolled down my cheek.

* * *

As I rose from the bed of grass, I thrust my clenched fist into the trunk of the tree I was seeking shade under. My hand gained a few bruises, which were greatly reduced due to the fingerless gloves I wore. I withdrew my hand and gazed at the hole in the tree I had just made. It had been more than eighty years since I became a witch. It had been more than ninety years since the incident, yet, it felt like the wounds in my heart were caused yesterday.

Unbeknownst to me, the Little Pandemonium hid within the trees, observing my every move with the youkai in charge of gaps. It was one of the rarest days when she was spotted awake in daytime.

As Alice approached me, she gently placed her hand on my shoulder. Her face was filled with concern and sadness. 'Marisa, please don't dwell on it for so long… You need to move on…' With that, tears threatened to leave Alice's eyelids every minute. I sniffed as I clutched the ground beneath me. I used to brush her hands away from me when she tried to comfort me but I knew it was useless, Alice would persist no matter what I did. I slowly moved my head and looked into her eyes. They resembled glass beads, fragile glass beads which contained nothing more than grief and sorrow. Her tears formed numerous watery trails down her cheeks and the corners of her baby blue eyes contained even more tears that were ready to flow any second. Before I knew it, I lost control of my emotions and threw myself into Alice's arms, clutching her blue dress which she never abandoned tightly. I let my tears drip from my eyes freely, soaking Alice's dress as I screamed. I could no longer hold back my emotions. I could feel Alice sobbing silently but said nothing when she held me in a tighter embrace. I let out a louder and longer wail, which echoed in the Forest of Magic. Years of held back emotions ran wild with each yell and it was only until night fell that I finally fell asleep after crying for so long. I could feel myself being lifted for a while, then lowered onto a soft bed. I felt a trembling hand caress my cheek gently as a familiar shaky voice spoke.

'Marisa… please… next time, don't hold back your emotions… anymore. Please be happy again…'

* * *

'Hey, Yukari, it's been more than a hundred years right? Since that day.' From the corner of my eye, Yukari nodded, her expressions revealing nothing. She kept her fan positioned before her lips, probably to show that she was not interested in talking. I knew the reason why. 'That girl… She still can't get over it. Yukari, I know you are pissed at her for doing something like this, but she was still young at that time.'

'…' I turned to Yukari and looked directly into her eyes. I took a sip from my Ibuki gourd as I continued, 'Yukari, you know that you're not the only one who is upset about this. Almost everyone who knew Reimu was devastated. You know that perfectly well.'

'Suika, I don't understand your point.' Yukari stated in a cold manner. I heaved a sigh, knowing that this was going to take quite some time getting into her head. I changed the tone in my voice before speaking. _She's still too fixated on Reimu._

'Yukari, I know you are angry that Reimu got killed by an over excited best friend who was too keen on beating her, but have you ever considered her effort? Marisa spent day after day training. She had no talent for danmaku at all, but she persisted in trying to perfect her techniques. Reimu was the perfect person for her to prove that hard work would pay off and you are fully aware of that too. Marisa had her eyes too fixed on her purpose. She never meant to-'

'**Suika, shut that drunken trap of yours before I-**' Yukari raised her voice, glaring at me as she snapped her fan closed.

'-**kill her. Face it. It's the truth and you are just trying to run away from it. Before holding a grudge against her, think properly. **You never saw Marisa's training and work. Your interests were all directed towards Reimu, so you wouldn't know.' I sent a grim glare back to Yukari before I continued, 'From observing Marisa's constant challenges to Reimu, I could see her hard work being put into action, her planning and her disappointment whenever she lost to Reimu time after time. Her happiness and excitement when she won would brighten up her day tenfold and also motivate her to work on different types of spellcards.'

'Suika...'

'Right now, she's still mourning the loss of her closest friend and rival. She's still dwelling on the past. _She now fears her own powers._ She _exiled her own self_ to ensure that no one else would suffer the same fate as Reimu. She has been living in regret for the past century._ She hasn't come to terms with her death._ She trembles whenever she tries to use her Master Spark. She couldn't bring herself to approach Reimu at the Sanzu River when she was rumoured to be there waiting for that shinigami made their way to her. Marisa didn't believe **us** when Reimu wanted to pass her the message that she held neither anger nor resentment towards her for destroying her existence. She didn't even _budge_ when Youmu visited her personally to tell her that Reimu was staying in Hakugyokurou.'

'…'

'She tried to throw away her emotions in hopes of forgetting the incident, but when she tries to train she would unknowingly break down in tears. She has yet to steal any books from the Great Unmoving Library since that day. Even though she was glad it had stopped initially, when years passed _too_ peacefully Patchouli left her domain and sought me out personally on her sudden change in behaviour. When she assured the numerous youkai, kappa, tengu and witches that she was alright at home, she was actually struggling to hold back her tears. She could never set foot beyond the Forest of Magic to apologise for killing Reimu. She still spoke to the grave, telling it how she screwed up, how greedy she was, how Reimu's friendship could never be replaced… The list goes on. She doesn't even buy food now, she only consumes food when Alice drops a bento at her doorstep once a day.'

* * *

Yukari kept quiet as she shifted her gaze to the witch clad in black who was deep in thought, standing over Reimu's grave she made herself. She carefully thought about the witch's feelings. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't spoken a word to the witch since the incident. She felt a pang of guilt attack her heart mercilessly. Yukari then understood that Marisa felt so remorseful that she could not bring herself to face her at all for more than half a century. Suika glanced at Yukari for a short second before taking another sip of sake from her gourd. She lost interest in drinking whenever she saw Marisa's expression mixed with guilt, fear and sadness. She was still sober during her conversation with Yukari. Heaving a heavy sigh, Suika spoke again, this time, slower, with a tinge of pity in her voice.

'She was the one who took the hardest blow from Reimu's death.' Suika turned her back, facing the Forest of Magic's lush greenery. She could not bear to see the witch's sadness etched clearly on her face as her cries echoed throughout the forest. Seeing this, Yukari opened a gap and teleported home, her mind void of any hard feelings towards Marisa.


	2. Spring Feast

**Spring Feast**

_ :春色小径 ～ __Colorful Path Spring Lane ~ Colourful Path_

Reimu sighed as she took another two bottles of sake from the storage house at the Hakurei Shrine. There was going to be another feast again after she returned from defeating Toyosatomimi no Miko, the reason behind the increase in divine spirits. As she settled the bottles next to a large tree in the backyard, she began to reminisce about the past incidents and the annoying celebratory feasts.

The cherry blossom tree was in full bloom, Reimu noticed, and she slowly paced towards the storage house yet again, searching for sake which would be pleasant for flower viewing. When she returned, this time with a crate of sake, the numerous youkai, vampires and witches greeted her with cheers. The newcomers, Miko's crew, were invited to the feast, which served as an ice breaker to them. They gave Reimu a range of grins, from slight ones from Seiga to large ones with giggles from Futo. Reimu, initially shocked from the sight, took a minute to absorb the scene before her before she announced the beginning of the feast.

Even though Reimu disliked how annoying the youkai would get when it came to this kind of events, she still allowed them to come anyway. Marisa tapped her sake cup against Reimu's before sipping hers. Reimu, however, gazed into the sake cup, as though the clear liquid held answers to world problems. Her thoughts began to trail back to the very first incident she solved with the Spell Card Rules.

Remilia proved to be a tough challenge. Reimu had to weave through pattern after pattern of dense scarlet bullets. Even though she managed to defeat Remilia, she had to admit that her spellcards required much agility trying to go through them. There were close calls here and there, especially when facing Scarlet Meister. _It's hard to forget those ridiculously thick and large bullet clouds she sent everywhere._

As a cherry petal landed gently on her sake surface, Reimu's memories then paced back to the Cherry Blossom Incident. As ripples formed, Reimu recalled Yuyuko's numerous butterfly-shaped danmaku which made her danmaku incredibly hard to look away from. Even when she faced Yuyuko's soul, she would be lying if she said that the danmaku was not eye catching. _That Youmu was pretty annoying though._

Her mind shifted its focus then on the incident with the lunarians. The moon princess had beautiful danmaku, however, they were made mostly from the 5 Impossible Requests she had. Their house was extremely large and was very irritating to navigate through, thanks to the moon rabbit she had. When she received the promised payment from Yukari, Reimu then knew that all her effort weren't in vain._ I should have Kaguya manipulate the shrine's space sometime._

* * *

Reimu's train of thoughts came to an abrupt halt when she noticed Marisa trying to stop Suika from going on a drunken rampage while Yukari and several other youkai stood by and watched, amusement clearly sparkling from their eyes. Reimu gave a light chuckle at the hilarious scene as she finally brought her sake cup to her lips. She examined the scene before her, listened to the laughter and chatter in silence as she lifted the sake bottle next to her for a refill. Cherry blossom petals drifted along with the gentle breeze as they settle on the surfaces of sake belonging to various youkai. Reimu's lips cracked into the faintest of smiles.

_The only reason why I'm doing this is because all the feasts never ended in anger._


	3. How It Became

**How It Became**

_ : 亡き王女の為のセップテット__Septette for the Dead Princess_

As I strolled down the deserted streets, I held Flandre's hand tighter. Autumn was coming in a few days and we still had not found a place to stay. I felt Flandre shiver as we walked forward, but paid no heed to it. The sooner we found a place to stay, the faster she will be able to keep warm.

The night was black, so dark that it looked like a never-ending cave underground. Stars dotted black night sky but the light did little to nothing to brighten up the sky. The moon however, was as round as a silver bauble hanging from a Christmas tree. I stopped for a moment to admire the full moon with Flandre, who gazed at it with eyes that twinkled with curiosity. The radiant snowy glow from the moon made it even more spectacular.

'Big sister, the moon is really pretty!' Flandre exclaimed to me. I chuckled for a moment before telling her that we were going to find a place to stay soon. We had been looking for somewhere to stay for more than two days already and we needed to find a place to stay for the cold season. Lady Luck smiled upon us when I spotted a large mansion a short distance away. I tugged at Flandre's arm for her to pick up her pace.

Suddenly, Flandre spun round to look behind. I raised a quizzical brow, questioning her behaviour. _She has been doing that every night since we got kicked out by the old lady who couldn't afford to help us anymore. I really need to know what's up with her._

'Hey, Flandre, are you alright? Nowadays you keep turning around for no reason at night.' I kept my voice soft, not wanting to attract undesirable attention. From the scraps of newspaper we found, there had been an increasing number of missing villagers, so we had to pay extra attention to our belongings. However, turning around every night when there was nothing behind was a different matter.

Flandre had difficulty trying to speak up, since she's a mere five-year old. She tugged at my rugged and stained sleeve, shaking in fear. _What's wrong with her? _She stuttered a bit initially as she tried to form her sentence, 'I-I no- I-I'm scared…'

I did not know whether to give a blank face or just ask her why straight away.

'Th-there… there's something… following us…' Her voice trailed off as she tried to turn behind and peek at the surroundings behind us. I did not expect that at all. I looked behind us and finally noticed for the first time how creepy the streets looked. The increase in missing people lately did not help one bit. I tried to reassure Flandre that all would be alright and gripped her hand tighter. I did not tell her that I was getting scared too. Fear was the last thing one would want to experience when there was possibly an unknown person following them. This applied to me as well.

'A-are you… sure? I can feel him… He-he-' She never finished that sentence when at that very moment, a large dominating figure struck us from behind, causing us to fall over and let go of each other. I felt myself being pushed against a wall and winced as cold hands squeezed my neck with inhumane strength, causing me to gasp for air. My eyelids cracked open slowly to take a look at the potential kidnapper. My eyes widened in fear and my pulse increased tremendously as my heart threatened to jump out of my rib cage. Fangs, red eyes, wings and strength that no human could compare to, there was no mistake.

I was being intercepted by a vampire.

Flandre kept screaming, pushing herself away from us in tears. The vampire's eyes were locked on mine, as if he was examining my every feature. I raised my right hand, trying to push him away from me but he neither flinched nor budged. _Damn it! I need to save Flandre! _When he brought his fangs into the skin around my shoulders, I screamed in pain, my hands clenched together and eyes snapped shut. I did not stop screaming while the vampire's fangs were still embedded in my body, sucking my blood dry.

'**Big Sister!**' Flandre yelled as she shook in fear. I tried to open my eyes to catch a glimpse of Flandre, but as I tried to process what I saw, Flandre did something unimaginable.

'Big Sister… your eyes… your back… go… go away!' She yelled as she raised her hands, trying to shield herself from my gaze. _What happened to my eyes?_ As the vampire finally released his grip on me, I fell onto the cold concrete path like a rag doll, energy drained from me. My head felt heavy and I struggled to look forward. I felt a strange, queasy sensation as my back began to sprout something but my head was in too much pain for me to bother about it anymore. _God damn it! That ass better not touch Flandre!_

The vampire turned and fixed his piercing red orbs on Flandre's curled-up form. He muttered something quietly to himself about blood as he paced towards her slowly. Flandre's limbs scrambled around, her hands trying to push her back with every step the vampire took while her legs tried to keep as close to her as possible. In the blink of an eye, the vampire lunged forward and grabbed a fistful of Flandre's blonde, unkempt hair and slammed her against the wall next to me. I could hear Flandre's sniffles and sobs increase in volume as the vampire tightened his grip around Flandre's neck.

Without thinking, I instinctively dashed towards the vampire and aimed my right hand for his stomach. He brought his leg out and kicked me into the wall, causing the bricks around my back to crack and fall apart. I felt warm liquid ooze out of my back, soaking my dirty pale pink shirt. My eyelids grew heavier by the second despite my inner protests to keep them open. At this moment, the vampire's fangs sank into Flandre's neck. _No…_ She screamed in pain for a few seconds. Then, she suddenly grew silent.

'**How dare you hurt Big Sister?!**' Flandre's free arms which were not restrained by him clenched into firm fists as her voice, now menacing and frightening, spoke. The vampire's fangs still remained buried in Flandre's skin but she paid no attention to them. She raised her right hand, palm facing the vampire.

'**Kyuu.**'

The vampire before her exploded into a large mess of blood and flesh. The fangs were no more, but the vampire still managed to turn her into one of his kind. As deformed wings grew from her back, she stepped towards me, silent from her display of power. My eyes looked into her now scarlet eyes. Within those clear eyes, I could see myself, my vampire wings and my identical red eyes.

'Hey, Big Sister, let's go take that big mansion.' Flandre said innocently, her expression void of any hatred or anger previous displayed. I looked down at my feet for a while before I smirked. _Perhaps, since my life is now fucked up, I might as well live it to its fullest._ I nodded in agreement and stood up, a new-found strength within me providing my energy as we held one another's bloodied hands and walked towards the mansion. _At least I still have Flandre.  
_

'Hey, Flandre, get ready to play. We're also going to have a delicious feast in red.' I snickered as the mansion's ominous presence drew closer and closer to us with every step. With our clothes now dyed a deep scarlet, no one shall leave the mansion alive._  
_


	4. Immortal

**Immortal**

_ : 月まで届け、不死の煙 __Reach for the Moon, Immortal Smoke_

_I wasn't born with this dangerous power. It was born from me through my hardships._

My eyes remained as wide as saucers as I stared at the flame my hand conjured up.

The flame slowly grew as my shock petrified my body and eventually, the flame burnt my hand. Even when my hand broke away and fell to the forest floor in flames, I still could not snap out of my stunned state. _How... how this...that...what?! W-what did I just do?!_

I tried desperately to keep myself calm and when I did, I tried to create that flame again. However, tiny sparks danced about from my hand instead, teasing me for my utter failure. I felt my anger boil within my blood and tried again. Sparks. _Mokou, cool down... This is new so naturally I won't be able to use it well... I guess I need to take my time mastering this annoying ability._ With that, I went back to my dwelling in the forest and created a makeshift target dummy using the nearby logs.

_For three hundred years._

* * *

I sighed as I watched my forearm fell off in flames yet again. It was a repeat of the first time I discovered this power, only ten times worse. My flames actually went out of control and nearly took down the entire area near the human settlement. I do not really care about the humans, but I was more worried about my control. It has been at least three hundred years already, and my control over this power over fire is far from perfect. Kaguya would most probably _mock _me for trying to defeat her with an 'immature power that is far from mastery'. Ever since, I haven't been getting my power under the control from three hundred years ago. _I used to think that this power would suffice in defeated Kaguya... clearly, I'm wrong..._ I could feel my former confidence dissipate as I crouched over, staring at the charred dummy before me.

_For three hundred years._

* * *

_If I had a choice to fight against my power or Kaguya, I would choose Kaguya in a heartbeat..._

_It's so hard! How the hell am I supposed to control this bastard!_ I felt my frustration grow as I punched a hole in the bamboo dummy. I felt a human's presence approach me but I paid no heed to it. I had no time to waste when I couldn't tame this wild, yet dormant power within me after six hundred years since its discovery. Although initially I had it under tight chains, when I let the flame grow one bit too large, it instantly consumed my two hands and left me gaping at the flares like an idiot. _After all this time! Was there... no meaning to it?! Was I too forceful? Was my training method wrong?! Why can't this fucking bitch of a power control itself?!_

'If you need help, I'm willing to help you.' I spun round and glared at the human who spoke. Was she an idiot? Approaching me was like asking for a death wish, since the Human Village spread so many rumours about fire demons in the Bamboo Forest. However, I felt myself opening up to this woman, who showed neither fear nor anxiety in her form.

'It's back to square one for me. If you think you can pull me up from there, then do what you feel like doing. All this work will end up going down the drain.' I traced each word with a subtle bitter rage.

That woman chuckled a little before replying, 'Why do you think so? Using the wrong method will make your work total up to nothing, but I can help you find the right way and let you enjoy the sweet fruits of labour.' She walked up to me and continued, 'Though the right way may take quite some time to find.' I smirked silently.

_This place... Gensoukyou... It has some pretty interesting inhabitants here._

_For three hundred years._

* * *

_Kamishirasawa Keine. That's a hellishly long family name, but it's a nice name._

Ever since she came to me, progress sped up drastically. When I finally controlled the bastard of a power within me, Keine clapped her hands in delight and handed me a bento box. Ever since she came to me, my hunger pangs cease to curse me for every hour of the day. We sat down on the forest floor and began to eat.

'Hey Keine, do you want to see the full moon with me tonight?' I asked. During these hundred and fifty years, Keine did nothing more than help me. I knew that there was no way I could return the favour to her, considering she was a human, but at the very least, I felt the need to thank her for all her help. _Besides, she never appeared on nights with the full moon._

'Sorry, Mokou, I... got some work to do tonight.' Keine hesitated a little. _She's hiding something._ Eventually, I managed to persuade her to view the full moon with me with numerous pleas and threats to battle Kaguya, but I felt something was a little off.

'Mokou, I'm not exactly what you see now.' Keine said with a tinge of sadness before she packed up and returned to the Human Village. What does she mean?

_Three hundred years ago._

* * *

_Not today Madame Kaguya, I have someone to meet tomorrow night. Without bandages._

Tomorrow was the night Keine and I were supposed to meet but today, I didn't see her. She usually would be able to meet me once every day but today she never appeared. _I guess she has too much work to do today..._ I sighed and created a tiny flame with my little finger. I never realised how fun it was to play around with a power like this. At least for today, while checking to make sure my control was okay, I can kill some time without doing much.

**POW!**

A laser from the sky struck the ground next to me, creating a large cloud of smoke. I hastily dodged away from the smoke and looked up. My eternal arch nemesis floated in the sky, looking down at me, smirking as she summoned another attacked. I dashed away and summoned several fireballs towards her, which were effortlessly avoided. _What in the name of nine fucks is she doing here?!_

As if she was reading my mind, Kaguya grinned as she said, 'Hey Mokou, I was bored you know, all these years after I left the Earth. That was until I heard you appeared here, though. How does a battle today sound, hmm?' As she cocked her head to the side, I narrowed my eyes and relaxed my arms. When she lowered herself slightly above me, I smirked as I spat in her face.

'Not today, mademoiselle Kaguya.' I sarcastically replied before dashing away.

* * *

_I'm sorry._

The battle intensified with every second as my waves of fire scorched Kaguya's skirt slightly while she was summoning her jeweled branch of Mount Hourai to commence her attack. I felt bullet after bullet pelting me at all directions but concentrated on draining the life out of the black-haired woman before me instead. _It'll be all over once I kill her._

As a barrage of rainbow bullets showered upon me, I furrowed my eyebrows and unleashed more flames towards Kaguya. In the process, the bamboo shoots around us drowned in a dancing sea of fire that gobbled up shoot after shoot of bamboo. As more bullets pierced my left shin, I engulfed myself in the flames that used to burn me. With my resistance to fire, I sped towards Kaguya in an orange blur and thrust my hand into her chest. Grabbing her heart, I ripped it out of her chest as her body tumbled down on the forest floor. I looked at the body of Kaguya for what seemed like an eternity. It was too good to be true. _I... won... _Pain, fatigue and my injuries joined forces and pushed me to the ground, coughing up blood. My head grew heavy as my eyelids came to a close. Just before darkness overtook my sight, the blurry image of a familiar lady in blue registered itself in my brain.

* * *

I woke up in a futon. Strange. Sunlight was streaming down on my face in pale yellow rays from a window. I am very sure I was having a bitch fight with Kaguya in the Bamboo Forest at dusk. This room does not resemble a bamboo forest. I tried to lift myself from the futon but the excruciating pain shot through my body in an instance, causing me to fall back on the futon. I groaned as the sliding door opened, revealing Keine.

'Oh, hi Keine. How long have I been asleep?'

'...Two days...' Keine mumbled. I could barely hear her, but the words remained etched in my memory. Her eyes were dull and drained of any of the happiness she showed to me in the past.

'Sorry for picking a fight with Kaguya. How about we view the next full moon, hmm?' I tried my best to brighten up her day. This sort of thing is new to me. I noticed Keine trembling as she knelt down next to the futon. _Oh crap how did I make her feel worse than before?! This is bad this is bad this is bad this is-_

'Yeah... I'll see you on that day... Don't do anything stupid like that again, please...' She rested her head on my belly, her tears staining the futon. I chuckled a little and struggled to place my hand on her head.

'Hey hey hey, don't cry now, you still have work to do, don't you?'

I smiled as I tilted my head to look up at the baby blue sky with fluffy white clouds before chuckling to myself. I directed my attention to the paper and brush on the table on the other end of the room._  
_

_Keine, thank you so much for all your help all this while. Even though words cannot describe my gratitude for you, I will still say these. Thank you for becoming my first friend. Thank you for helping me train. Thank you for being there no matter what happens to me. Thank you very much, for caring for me. No matter who or what you are or become, you will always be my best friend._

* * *

**A/N: I originally wanted this to be about Mokou's thoughts on becoming an immortal after the 4 teams in IN fight her. Eventually I thought it was too boring and a bit too... senseless, in a way that whatever I wrote made no sense. Then I overwrote everything to be about how Mokou gained her power, since she's human and all. With how the story turned out... I don't really know what its main plot point is supposed to be - Keine to Mokou or Mokou's struggle with her powers. Anyways, there will be a sister fic of sorts in Keine's POV for this. When, I do not know, but it will definitely come.**

**Thank you readers, followers and those who fav this collection for reading my fanfics so far, I won't be updating for the next week for End of Years (EOYs). :)**

**-ImmortalMagician**


	5. Ferry

**Ferry**

_ : Higan Retour ~ Riverside View_

The evening sky was painted with smooth hues of lavender and orange, creating a natural water painting. Clouds formed misty wisps across the horizon, bringing out the beauty of the colours. The many mountain slopes along the Sanzu River were barren and their tips could barely touch the lowest cloud. The River itself had a crystal clear surface which reflected every little detail of the scenery. Not a soul was seen around the river, leaving its surface perfectly still.

Ripples began to form as a small wooden boat began to drift across the surface. The shinigami with striking red locks in a ponytail on either side of her head was rowing her boat slowly, only paddling when necessary. Her scythe, slightly larger than her, was held over her back, the blade pointing towards her nameless and speechless passenger. She rowed her boat a few more times before she took a seat. It was going to be a long journey.

The soul waiting in her boat said nothing. After all, it _had_ no mouth to speak with. It began to back away slowly as the descending scythe barely poked its wispy form until it could move no more. The shinigami heaved a weary sigh as she took a look at her surroundings. She knew that the journey to Higan was long and boring, but she did nothing to quicken her pace. She was well known for slacking off and causing an atrociously long wait for souls to be ferried to Higan from Gensoukyou.

As night transformed the sky into a solid navy blue, the moon became the Sanzu River's only light source, lighting up only a few of the countless mountains scattered around the River. The shinigami gave in to fatigue, despite not doing much work besides paddling, and decided to have a good night's sleep. The soul could do nothing more than watch her form snore softly and mumble from time to time about work and a midget boss.

At the crack of dawn, Komachi snapped her eyelids open. She took a deep breath and yawned as she stretched her arms and legs. Her forgotten scythe almost sliced the soul she was ferrying to two if it hadn't hastily dodged the sharp, deadly blade. Komachi lifted her scythe, her back still facing the terrified soul. The boat they were in ceased motion a few hours before she woke up, causing Komachi to mutter a few curses before paddling the boat towards Higan again. A few hours later, a red petal flew slowly with the warm, gentle breeze, settling on the calm river surface with a soft 'plop'. Komachi glanced over to the petal before rowing the boat past the silky scarlet form.

'We are almost there.'

Komachi directed her words to the soul, which was stunned for a short instance. Her gaze was fixed on the immense number of large flowerbeds which were lined along the riverside in neat rows. Flower petals of all colours and shapes danced throughout the air to the wind's direction, creating a nameless, yet spectacular show for visitors to Higan. Although every visitor in the past could not say anything, Komachi could tell that they were genuinely awestruck by the scenery in Higan. She had seen the same reaction unfold for every soul she ferried, and the soul she was currently ferrying was no different.

Komachi took in the sweet scent of the flowers and her lips broke into a gentle, serene smile. Even though she hardly bothered to ferry souls into Higan for their judgment, the mesmerising sight of the beautiful flowers were a good enough reward for her whenever she ended the journey to Higan. As the boat finally paused before the dirt pathway for the soul to follow for its judgment by Shikieiki, Komachi felt tears trickle down her cheeks as she yawned yet again. She got off her boat along with its passenger and took a seat against a tall cherry tree. Petals delicately followed the wind's path as Komachi's eyes slowly submitted to her laziness.


End file.
